What makes a good CV?
Most recruiters ask for a CV when advertising jobs. These are either emailed to the employer or handed to them in person, it’s up to you which you feel it appropriate for your particular applications. A CV gives the recruiter a good background on your work experience, skills and academic background. If you like, it’s like your first opportunity to stand out from the crowd and be noticed.
Employers don’t want to be flicking through copious amounts of pages, so it’s always best to keep it to a maximum of 2 pages. Use bullet points or brief descriptions of roles to keep the volume on your CV down as much as possible.
Resumes should be created professionally, with no grammar mistakes or bad language. Always use a format that’s neat and easy to read and print on white A4 sized paper. It’s sometimes tempting to try and get noticed by being quirky and using a different font or coloured paper, this won’t help your chances and instead, make it more likely for your CV to be binned from the get go.
If you’re stuck and don’t know where to start, there are lots of free templates available online and on Microsoft Word to help with writing a CV. Do your research and use these resources to help you create the perfect CV.
So, what should you include on your CV?
Personal Statement
After typing your name, job title and contact details, it is a good idea to include a brief introduction on your personal qualities and overall work experience. Think of this as a summary of you and what you can do.
Core Skills
Core Skills are a good way of informing the employer about the main skill sets that you hold. These can be anything from problem solving to customer service or team leadership.
Work Experience
This is the section that catches the attention of your future employer, they will have a look at your experience and match it up to the role that you are applying for. Include the job title, company, dates and a brief description of the main roles carried out at each job. Always put your most recent job title at the top and make sure you highlight all the qualities you brought to the role.
Qualifications
It is also very important to add your academic background to your CV, as some roles require a specific level of qualification. Start with your most recent qualification, place of study and the date and so on.
Hobbies
Some recruiters are genuinely interested in other past times that you have, as these can be utilised within the job. Remember to keep it professional. You may also include any volunteer work or leadership projects that you have completed.
All that’s left to do now is sit down and get writing that perfect CV ready for your next employer!